Sylva peace-making strides in Bayelsa

Nigerian Tribune

27 Feb 2011

Sylva peace-making strides in Bayelsa 

The Niger Delta region is the treasure base of the nation but ironically, the wealth accruing from the oil and gas resources has not been transformed into meaningful economic development. This ugly trend of poverty amidst plenty underscores the “Resource Curse” hypothesis. There is a high index of poverty due largely to inadequate basic infrastructure such as telecommunication, electricity, good roads, healthcare and quality educational system. 

In Bayelsa State, the deployment of federal troops to the creeks led the military to engage in scorch earth policy: destroying, maiming, and raping. Many communities were massacred, the most recent being Ayakoromor, where the JTF destroyed the community, killing innocent women and children under the guise of hunting for ‘Gen’ John Togo.

It was this climate of fear and insecurity that prevailed when Governor Timipre Sylva took office. The most painful effect of militancy in Bayelsa State is that, not only did it bring about wholesale destruction of lives and property, it led to the violation of oil facilities, and this substantially reduced the quota of oil produced in the State. Today Bayelsa State, which used to be 2nd on the hierarchy of oil producers, is now a distant 4th with very profound implication for fund accruing to the state.